right. i am trying to build my first ever computer and already hitting problems as i am not sure of certain specs etc. i mainly surf the net burn dvd,s cd,s and would like to use this new computer as a media centre. i now and again play games but rarely and usually unreal 99. is crossfire sli only for gaming or would dual cards speed up the movie dvd burning process. anyway this is the spec i was thinking about. cooler master wave case, intel 6600 cpu, asus P5w dh delux motherboard, thermalite tough power 700w psu, thermalite ultra 120 cpu cooler, seagate 80gb and 500gb hard drives, 2 sony 18x dvd burners, creative sound blaster x-fi sound card. not sure which but 2gb ram and not sure but around the £200 mark for a graphics card. any explainations on crosssfire sli and this setup or why i should change certain items would be really welcome. thanks in advance Maxiboy
building my first computer
- Thread starter MAXIBOY
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Crossfire/SLI would be pointless for DVD burning, will make no difference whatsoever.
They are for higher performance in games and almost exclusively used for high res on large screens (i.e. 20" +), below that one single fast card is usually more than enough.
Crossfire is two ATI cards and Crossfire compatible/certified motherboard and SLI is the nVidia version. As you don't play many games it'll be a pointless feature for you but if the motherboard isn't massively expensive for having SLI or Crossfire ability there is no harm in having it (you can still use one card in Crossfire/SLI motherboard), just don't spend money on getting it needlessly.
They are for higher performance in games and almost exclusively used for high res on large screens (i.e. 20" +), below that one single fast card is usually more than enough.
Crossfire is two ATI cards and Crossfire compatible/certified motherboard and SLI is the nVidia version. As you don't play many games it'll be a pointless feature for you but if the motherboard isn't massively expensive for having SLI or Crossfire ability there is no harm in having it (you can still use one card in Crossfire/SLI motherboard), just don't spend money on getting it needlessly.
whats your budget for this new pc?
will you be overclocking?
as per tetras points you specifically do not need crossfire/sli because you are not a hardcore gamer in the sense you "now and again" only play games..
already i would suggest not to go for these 2:
asus P5w dh delux motherboard, thermalite tough power 700w psu, thermalite ultra 120 cpu cooler
because you can get a better mobo and you dont need that much power 700w and you can get a better cpu cooler if not for same price or cheaper...
but come back to me with the answers for above and we would able to sort you out in no time..
p.s. did you choose that case because you liked it? are you opening to suggests for case?
will you be overclocking?
as per tetras points you specifically do not need crossfire/sli because you are not a hardcore gamer in the sense you "now and again" only play games..
already i would suggest not to go for these 2:
asus P5w dh delux motherboard, thermalite tough power 700w psu, thermalite ultra 120 cpu cooler
because you can get a better mobo and you dont need that much power 700w and you can get a better cpu cooler if not for same price or cheaper...
but come back to me with the answers for above and we would able to sort you out in no time..
p.s. did you choose that case because you liked it? are you opening to suggests for case?
thanks for the replys. my budget is around 1200 to 1500 if need be. yes i would like to over clock hence the ultra 120 cpu cooler. the main reason for choosing that mother board was the media centre opitions but if you think there are better then please advise.the other reason for the asus mother board was its kentfield ready so its able to upgrade at a later date. also the larger power supply as i was not sure if i was going to be using the crossfire. as i not i will prob get away with a 550w supply. yes the cooler master case i like eps in the black finish.
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Well there are some fast large hardrives, but if you want the fastest SATA HDD then a raptor if what you want (10,000rpm) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Western_Digital_SATA.html
or SCSI Drives (15000rpm but not really worth it as they are mega £££
)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/SCSI_Drives.html .
For a large Hadrive get a seagate Barracuda or something that would more than be good enough and they are fast
gl
or SCSI Drives (15000rpm but not really worth it as they are mega £££
)http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/SCSI_Drives.html .
For a large Hadrive get a seagate Barracuda or something that would more than be good enough and they are fast
gl
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MAXIBOY said:
The motherboard is fine but your graphics card will have very limited impact on burning DVDs, basically anything that can render Windows will allow you to write a DVD. Now if you are talking about image processing and film-editing or similar then there will be more of an impact but still not massively important for the most part.
Since you don't appear to be much of a gamer then something like a 7900gs will be more than sufficient and also allows you to play games very decently if you choose to later. You could get away with almost anything for the uses specified but to keep the PC balanced either a 7900gs or a 7600gt would probably be my recommendation.